HES Shark Scoop

Dear HES Families,

Thank you so much to all the caregivers who joined us this week for parent-teacher conferences. We deeply value our partnership with you, and please remember that our collaboration doesn’t stop when conference week ends. Never hesitate to reach out to our team anytime throughout the year with questions, thoughts, or ideas.

Our students have also been busy shining this week! On Wednesday, our October 4th Grade Ambassadors did a phenomenal job hosting our All Shark Meeting. With Ms. Riley directing, Ms. Branchut’s class led the HES school song, and Ms. Santiago’s class led us in an inspiring rendition of "I Can Do Hard Things."

The focus of the meeting was cultivating a growth mindset when tackling new challenges. Our ambassadors brought this theme to life in incredible ways, designing beautiful posters, crafting a clever Canva presentation, putting together a Google slideshow, conducting staff interviews, and even anchoring their own informative newscast! We are so proud of their hard work and leadership.

Wishing all of our Shark families a wonderful, restful weekend!

Warm regards,

Christie

We look to build a strong school advisory council this year to guide our important work. A school council is a representative, school building-based committee that meets quarterly and is composed of the principal, parents, teachers, and community members. School councils may assist principals in:

1. Adopting educational goals for the school that are consistent with local educational policies and statewide student performance standards

2. Identifying the educational needs of students attending the school

3. Reviewing the annual school building budget

4. Formulating a school improvement plan

5. Reviewing the student handbook
   
   

If you are interested please send an email message to Principal Cutone at ccutone@monomoy.edu indicating your interest in serving on the school council.

National School Bus Safety Week is held each year to reinforce one shared priority: keeping students safe on and around the school bus.

• Drivers: Always stop when the lights are flashing and the arm is out, and be alert for students entering or exiting the bus
• Students: Follow all directions from the adults on the bus and only exit and cross when told it's safe to go

We all have a part in keeping our youngsters safe!

Congratulations to the first Monomoy Staff Shoutout of this school year - Charity Rossetti! Charity is a member of the cafeteria team at Harwich Elementary and was nominated by a colleague, who wrote:

"Charity is one of the first faces when students get off the bus in the morning as they grab breakfast, and she greets every student with a genuine smile. She knows children's preferences, and even though there is a large group of students getting breakfast, she never makes anyone feel rushed. This compassion continues into lunch service as she makes every Shark feel valued and appreciated. Even in brief interactions, one can see that Charity values each and every student in the building. Charity's positivity extends to her interactions with coworkers throughout the building as she helps everyone find a smile."

Way to go, Charity!

Who will you nominate for October? Click here to recognize one of our staff members for going above and beyond!

We would love to have you join us for lunch one day! It's a wonderful chance to meet your child's friends and spend a little mid-day time connecting with them.

To reserve your spot on any day of the week, please complete this form. As usual, you will need to have a CORI on file in the office.

To ensure a smooth and secure visit for everyone:

• Upon Arrival: Please sign in at the main office when you get here.

• After Lunch: We kindly ask that you return directly to the front office to sign out before you depart. To help the afternoon classes begin promptly and with minimal distraction, please do not accompany your child back to the classroom.

Thank you for your cooperation—we look forward to seeing you! 😊

Monomoy Regional School District participates in the National School Lunch (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP). As part of these programs, all schools offer healthy meals every school day at NO COST to the students, due to the implementation of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) for school year 2026-2027. Students receive Breakfast and Lunch (1st meal) at school without having to pay a fee or submit a household application. Find more information on our Food Services website.

Wednesday, November 4 -- Early Release 1:35 pm Dismissal

Tuesday, November 10--Fall Picture Retake Day

Wednesday, November 11 -- Holiday NO SCHOOL

November 16-20 – Fall Bookfair

Wednesday, November 18 -- Early Release 1:35 pm Dismissal

Thursday, November 19 -- All Shark Meeting 8:15 am

November 25, 26, 27 -- Holidays NO SCHOOL

The Harwich Select Board and Chatham Select Board have jointly established the Monomoy Regional Agreement Working Group to review the assessment methodology used to determine each town's financial contribution to Monomoy Regional School District. Its membership includes representatives from each town's Select Board, Finance Committee, and leadership, School Committee, as well as non-voting Citizen Representatives and Student Representatives from each town. In order to keep the community informed about the decisions and discussions of the Working Group, periodic updates will be shared by Brad Schiff, Chair of the Working Group and Chair of the Monomoy Regional School Committee.

Over the past few months, the Monomoy Working Group has begun to meet regularly, with the location of the meetings rotating between our two towns. At the first meeting, I was elected Chair of the group, and my School Committee colleague Ryan Edwards was elected Vice Chair. I am excited to be a part of this process and look forward to broad engagement around supporting our excellent school district.

We are entering into this process with open minds, and make no presumption about the outcome. Dr. Millen and Mr. MacMillan have provided us with a great deal of detailed data to help us learn and understand the myriad issues at hand. The Working Group will continue to review information before making any recommendations or changes.

Objectives: In our most recent meeting, we finalized our objectives:

1. Evaluate and analyze how the existing assessment formula affects each member town, and provide a clear, data-driven rationale for any proposed modifications.

2. Maintain transparent ongoing communication with the community regarding the working group’s progress and findings.

3. Optimize in-district student retention while upholding its excellence and rigorous operational standards.

4. Achieve balanced resource allocation by maximizing student capacity across all grades.

We are committed to ensuring that the process is undertaken transparently and without predetermination. I welcome input from our community, so if you have any questions or comments, please email me at brad.schiff@monomoy.edu. Stay tuned for our next update!

~Brad Schiff, Chair, Monomoy Regional School Committee, and Chair, Monomoy Regional Agreement Working Group

Resources and additional information:

• Town of Chatham website

• Agendas/minutes for meetings held in Chatham

• Video recordings of meetings held in Chatham

• Town of Harwich website

• Agendas/minutes for meetings held in Harwich

• Video recordings of meetings held in Harwich

• MRSD School Committee website

We appreciate your patience and flexibility as our towns undergo a variety of roadwork projects. You will find the most accurate and current information about road closures and detours on our town websites and on the social media pages of local public safety:

• Town of Harwich Website - this page has weekly updates from the contractors, along with detours and recommended school transportation pickup and dropoff spots
• Harwich Police Facebook Page
• Town of Chatham Website
• Chatham Police Facebook Page

These resources are also linked on our website. We ask that everyone be prepared for some slight delays as road construction projects continue in the coming weeks.

The SHORE Food Pantry at Monomoy Regional High School has been selected again as a nonprofit partner in the Stop & Shop Bloomin’ 4 Good Program! The SHORE Food Pantry will receive $1 for each $11.99 specially marked Bloomin’ 4 Good bouquet sold throughout the month of October 2026 at the East Harwich Stop & Shop location. The funds raised will help eliminate food insecurities for our Monomoy students, families, and community. Find more information on the food pantry at https://www.monomoy.edu/shore-food-pantry.

Did you know that you can use tools right in your web browser to translate any website you are visiting?

• The Monomoy website has translation tools accessible by clicking the button at the upper left corner of the site.

• When visiting any website, you can set your browser to translate the content.

• Aspen is our Student Information System, where you can see your student’s grades and other important information. Aspen allows users to change the default language from English to Haitian Creole, Spanish, or Portuguese. If you need translation to another language, you can use your browser settings to do so.

• We have shared details and instructions on our website for how to adjust these settings.

• You can find more information on our website about other translation tools we have available in our schools.

If you have problems using any of these tools, please email webmaster@monomoy.edu.

Community partners including Children’s Cove, Barnstable County, the Cape & Islands District Attorney’s Office, Monomoy Regional School District, and the towns of Chatham and Harwich are coming together to offer information and education to parents and caregivers on digital safety for young people. The event, titled Keeping Kids Safe Online: Learn how to navigate safety discussions, will be held on November 4, 2026 at 5:30 p.m at Brooks Free Library in Harwich and on November 9, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. at the Chatham Community Center. Both sessions will share the same information, so attendees can select the one that better suits their needs. Childcare will be available at both sessions. Registration is requested for these events:

• Harwich, 11/4/26, Registration Link: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/g/sqqptp0XjK

• Chatham, 11/9/26, Registration Link: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/g/8uRAbkC6vE

Parents, caregivers, and anyone engaged with youth are encouraged to attend this important conversation.

Did you know that all past issues of the HES Shark Scoop are linked on our website? If you missed an issue and want to find the information, you can find them all on our site.

Ms. Allyson Joy, Assistant Principal

Email: ccutone@monomoy.edu
Website: https://www.monomoy.edu/Domain/9
Location: 263 South Street, Harwich, MA, USA
Phone: 508-430-7216